The Parker & Neal Mola Collection - Part 1
Lot 155:
Description
Panama (Guna Yala), circa 1970s
13 × 16.75 inches
Exuberantly worked reverse appliqué, appliqué, and embroidery mola panel featuring two musicians rendered in dense hand-stitching, each playing a guitar with multicolored embroidered strings and white bead-like tuning peg accents, their faces detailed with embroidered features and expressive countenances. Three floating spirit animal masks — each dark-ground with embroidered eyes, nose, and open mouth — hover above the figures in the upper register. Appliquéd text reading “ORIGINALES” is presented in a framed banner across the top in multicolored letters on a black ground, asserting the authenticity of the work. The surrounding field is filled throughout with dense vertical dash-and-stripe embroidery in a full spectrum of polychrome colors. Executed in three layers of red, black, and dark gray cotton, with extensive polychrome embroidered accents in yellow, orange, green, blue, pink, purple, teal, and white.
A similar photo of this mola can be found on page 198 of MOLAS Folk Art of the Cuna Indians by Parker and Neal.
Provenance: From the Parker & Neal Collection.
Condition report:
Minor wear and fading consistent with age. In house Flat Rate US Shipping of $15 for 1 -10 molas, $5 each additional 10 molas. Insurance is additional and required.
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